Conan Exiles is exceptional! Isn't it?

Conan Exiles General Discussion
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I want to clarify that any mentions of a recently released survival game have been excluded from my posts. Any references to games or companies mentioned are purely for illustrative purposes. I am not endorsing or promoting any third-party content here.

Hi,

It’s May 31, and a highly anticipated survival game has been released in early access or open beta. However, this is not about the recent release survival games genre - because I am not excited about one or the other. I am using other games as examples, only to highlight some unique aspects, at least unique to me, that one may find in Conan Exiles and only in Conan Exiles. Don’t get me wrong; I am by no means a die-hard Conan Exiles fan, but it’s the details I have come to appreciate.

To make my point, I have to share something about my gaming history. Like many others, I played WORLD OF WARCRAFT for almost a decade. However, I quickly became disillusioned and tired after just two years. I took a break, returned, and then delved into roleplay, where I spent the following years. I dabbled in other games like Guild Wars II, Aion, TERA, and some more, but none of them could reignite the spark I felt when I first played WoW. Eventually, Blizzard pushed me over the edge (I’m ashamed to admit it, but I have a temper), so I decided to permanently delete my account, a decision I have never regretted.

To be frank, the survival sandbox genre felt like a revelation to me. Almost everything about it appealed to me because, let’s be honest, any theme park is just a revamped redundancy. Official patches and add-ons, regardless of the game, feel like a new cycle of the same old song. If it had a jazz foundation, it might have been more exciting, but that’s not the case; it’s more like bubblegum pop, something I can’t enjoy.

Let’s talk about things I can’t enjoy - quests always felt mundane to me since at their core, they are all the same: kill A, collect B, go to C, find D, and so on. Redundancy becomes unavoidable at some point, and everything seems like more of the same. The same goes for grinding/farming. While I understand its necessity, it should never be the sole content. Sometimes I get the impression that when people talk about content, they simply mean more of the same with new items. This is why I have mostly avoided grind-heavy mods from the start (especially Age of Calamitous or EEWA).

The absence of flashiness immediately caught my eye. Yes, I am referring to something that this game does not offer. Let’s be honest, if you want to party, you can go to a nearby rave or some other flashy event. Being bombarded with chaotic, seizure-inducing lights has never excited me in any game. This may be age-related or due to my sensitive eyes. However, Conan Exiles was different! I can say this after playing the game for years and accumulating thousands of hours. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying combat in Conan Exiles is good; it’s rather questionable (and of course far from FOR HONOR), but it’s somehow realistic and by no means flashy. It may not be much, but it’s the difference that makes the difference.

Another seemingly insignificant detail that sets Conan Exiles apart is the size of the weapons. This aspect adds to the game’s realism. It always bothered me to carry a weapon on my back almost the size of my avatar. In Conan Exiles, the weapons felt different, and it was and is good like this. So you can imagine my reaction when my avatar was electrocuted for the first time by an enchantment - I was like, “WTF!”
Curious? Of course, you are, which is why I’ll mention the mod’s name: Lexa’s Exiled Lands Improved (Continued by Darc).

Before you accuse me of criticizing modders again, that’s not my intention. In fact, Lexa’s mod is pretty cool; they just went a bit overboard in one way or another.

Mods - some people love them fanatically, while others reject them with the same intensity. I find myself somewhere in between. Generally speaking, is there any other game that gives modders the same level of freedom as Conan Exiles does? I might be mistaken, but to my knowledge, that’s not the case. This can be seen as both a positive and a negative, but at the end of the day, it’s all about choices. Nobody is forced to play on private server X, infamous for its notorious eRP community. We all know that sex sells, so there is also a plethora of kink created by some modders.

Undoubtedly, I have always loved item transmogrification, especially garments, to achieve the desired look. TESTERLE introduced this into Conan Exiles long before Age of Sorcery was even dreamed of. So, it’s not surprising that Fashionist (currently v4.5.6) instantly became one of my favorite mods.

No other mod changes garments, dresses, or undresses faster. Unfortunately, you won’t find it as easily these days, as TOT offers an almost overwhelming customization experience.

What was your first moment of total immersion in this game? Can you still remember it? I can. Running in rags towards the jungle along the so-called “n00b river.” It felt so good; I could almost feel the sun and wind on my skin as I looked back at the vanishing footprints in the sand, washed away by the water.
Immersion has been the main thing that captivated me in Conan Exiles time and time again. In fact, it was the primary reason I was able to overlook all the nasty bugs and glitches. It’s the feeling of pure, unfiltered escapism that no other game has given me in such raw intensity as Conan Exiles.

After spending 9 hours trying out THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE (it took over twice as long to download the game from STEAM), I just uninstalled it (literally a moment ago). There was no magic in it. While the game was loading, I watched several game videos, read dozens of guides, and yet, the game itself was incredibly annoying and, well, deadly boring.

Another aspect that sets Conan Exiles apart is the barbarism, a truly savage experience. Nudity is just one part of the whole package. If you enjoyed “Spartacus: Blood and Sand / Gods of the Arena,” try to imagine which game comes closest to that series. Well, I am biased, but aside from Conan Exiles (especially on modded private servers), I don’t know any other game that comes closer.

In conclusion, when I look at so many other games, I see flashy effects, strange combat moves (often inspired by Asian MMOs), gigantic weapons, and more or less puritanism. This may be a bold statement, but I am still not attracted to it even after watching several hours of videos about the game. After reflecting on and considering various aspects of the game, Conan Exiles remains special!

What are your thoughts and experiences on this?

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As soon as I got to the noob river and heard the music, I felt like I was there. I’ve always felt like the music and sound artists in Conan Exiles don’t get the recognition they deserve. The original theme sounded like they brought Basil Poledouris back to life, and that’s why I was sad to see it replaced when Siptah came out, and happy to see it restored later.

There are so many other aspects of Conan Exiles that I love. If I had to pick one, though, it would be the quests.

Most games that have quests rely on certain conventions: you look for quest givers with exclamation marks, you talk to them and they give you the quest, you then get a quest log entry and a marker on your map and/or minimap, then you go do whatever you’re supposed to and it keeps updating the quest log and the markers, and finally you go turn it in.

In Conan Exiles, you have to immerse yourself in the world. You get clues from lore stones, journals, and NPCs, and you figure out what to do. It feels so much more rewarding.

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Yeah, I love Conan Exiles. It is special to me. I can login at any time and get lost in the atmosphere and music and savage beauty of it.

It is my curse to absolutely love games–The Secret World, Secret World Legends, and Conan Exiles–that are made by Funcom.

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Speaking of the music. Those of us who are Age of Conan veterans get a big nostalgia hit when entering the area around the Black Galleon.

I guess what has always brought me in these two games (both Age of Conan and Conan Exiles) is the theme. You have this gritty but adventuristic low fantasy aesthetic that makes you feel like you’re in a Barbarian movie of the likes of Conan the Barbarian or Beastmaster. The sounds, the music, and the visuals all work together to give it that theme and feel.

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Conan is an great game, it just needs work, its like that classic car sitting in your granpa’s garage that needs alot of fixing, but if it ever does WHOO BOY, blue ribbon at the car show!. There’s still alot of issues that have been around for such a long time, and the worse part is they just add new ones at every update without ever fixing the old ones.
-Make the chests either open or close normally or not at all, you can even leave the sound effect.

  • Why is the “must be placed on walkable floor” bug for certain creatures (ice giants,golems) still a thing?
  • that annoying as hell “edge hopping” on certain structures when you’re climbing and your character just wont pull themselves up on to the ledge (this one especially urks me)
    -Much much more…
    These things have been around for YEARS. I dont even want new content at this point, just fix the damn game.
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First time in the Mounds. I think it was the first time I was truly solo, was figuring out my weapons, then came absolute bloodshed. I survived going through, but in the quiet aside from yelling Cimmerians the game finally clicked.

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My relationship with this game is like my fandom of the NY Jets.

In my core, I love this game. It’s my favorite stress reliever and on the days where I have the time to really go out and do stuff I have a great time.

But man does the management team frustrate the hell out of me. Every year is supposed to be the year where “we make it”. New QB who disappoints (New features that are half baked upon implementation), New Coaching that has no consistent direction (New Ages that bring unwanted/unasked for changes that fundamentally detract from the game), Healthy team that gets brought down by injuries (Persistent bugs on top of new ones).

This is by far my favorite current game, but hot dang it could be so much better.

But my first moment of total immersion? My first classic purge along the north bank of the noob river, where exiles tried tearing down my simple stone structure and I had to fend them off with my son helping me out. It was so much fun taking on the waves of enemies who attacked us simply for the reason that we dared to exist in their realm. I’d give anything for that feeling again.

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for me it is, above all else, the setting and theme that gets me. i had read the howard stories a long time ago. i liked them, but was never a die-hard fan. first time i played this game, i couldnt get into it. i didn’t really understand how to play it (i never played a survival crafting game before) and it just didn’t click. about a year later i tried it again, and gave it more than my usual ‘wow me in 15 minutes or i’ll find something else.’ and it just clicked. it made me yearn for more, and i started seeking out a private server where i could play with other people while not having to worry about degenerates spreading poop on the walls in the public / official restrooms. i found a server with some cool people, made some online friends, strived and slayed, and became even more enamored of the setting. no flashing fire ball spells, no hard-handed morality play. just surviving in a brutal world, and making of it what i could, under my own terms. i started re-reading the old stories, and getting more and more into the lore and setting, allowing myself to be mentally immersed in howard’s antediluvian world. i love this game, no doubt about it.

along the way i experienced a helluva lot of jank, and witnessed what i think are some very awful decisions by the dev team. i have lost hope at times, especially through the age of war updates. i worry about the future of the game that i love, but i will ride the car until the wheels fall off.

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Frustration!
Agony!
Fear!
Death!
Respawn!
This time i will make it…
Hunger… How do i turn on the freaking campfire???
Death!
I managed to turn it on this time, cool, i won’t die again, yet why the sky is red now, what’s going on?
Sandstorm really, it’s coming from where??? Jump in the river, this should be safe… Wtf, how sandstorm is killing me under water, why? Death.
Let’s see the journey steps…
“find a shelter”
Damn i have to build, but how do i build? Shall i watch a video? Nah i will made it alone, i like this game…
I played my first 2 months in this game lost! I didn’t watch any video, any hint, nothing!
Every simple thing i was discovering was something enormous for me.
Although my fellow exile @tarazuri i am a gamer since atari and played numerous titles, my top fighting games until Conan exiles was vagrant story and prince of Persia the warrior within.
I started Conan exiles exactly after melting Witcher to the ground.
When i grasped the two handed sword and in the final heavy hit i was slicing with a jump my opponents, i fell in love this game completely!
Of course most of the cool mechanics we had back then do not exist anymore. Others took place and the game still remains top of my list.
But these was my first days playing this game…
Or at least a Saturday night that became Sunday morning in minutes.
Yes! When you play THE game you totally loose the sense of time. I count only 10 tittles out of a hundred than managed this all these years.

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I got the game a few weeks after release on PlayStation (yeah, I had JUST missed the Day One addition, bummer). The reason I picked it up was because I had heard about the building customization. I had come from heavily customizable games like Fallout 4 and APB Reloaded where I could infuse my own personality into the games I played. I had no major interest in combat or survival or anything of the sort. I just wanted a sandbox I could create a “second home” in. In Fallout 4 I use to take breaks and lounge in my created settlement and feel like I was part of a community that I created.

Anyway, I asked a friend to SharePlay with me so I could see what it looked like, and then decided to buy it. Because my interest was mainly in building, my first feeling of immersion was when I had my walls built up—so that damn bear that killed me several times over couldn’t get me anymore lol—and I had a cozy space (out of sandstone mind you) that I could just feel at peace and appreciate the fruits of my labor. I had practically leveled up to 60 on building alone. Once I had a few thralls around my base, it felt more lively. Sure, it was no FO4 with settlers walking around and doing tasks, but even them standing around was an improvement. It was at that point that it started to come together for me. I was on a private server with no loot drop on death, so I was spoiled, until my friend who owned it decided to change it to loot drop. I was scared, especially with my first venture to the volcano, but I quickly got use to it.

Since then, I moved over to an official server, then dragged @Marylambs (sometimes kicking and screaming with frustration lol) along with me after many of my other friends abandoned the game for other fleeting pleasures. I’ve seen people come and go, but I’ve stuck around, refreshing my bases between small breaks for the better part of 4 or 5 years… even going through the dreaded server merger. I’ve been suspended and rebuilt. I’ve lost many things and begrudgingly replaced them and/or cut my losses. I’ve moved entire bases to new locations.

In short, the game is great! However, it’s also not great. There’s plenty of things that need work. The game has never been the best on consoles, PlayStation ESPECIALLY. Sometimes it feels like the dev team just doesn’t understand what we want. Sometimes I feel like they want to do stuff, but are afraid to make commitments so they leave us in the dark, often resulting being Guinea pigs because they don’t want to say what their true goals are down the road. It’s often “we made X change because we have plans that will conflict with Y feature. You’ll see down the road.” I’d like a bit more transparency (sure, they’ve gotten better than the previous years) over why said changes no one asked for were implemented. AoW Chapter 4 just takes the cake. So many issues, so many changes. Many of which were met with absolute disgust from us, the player base. The inventory was improved after a few patches, but dyers bench? Come on, that was a dumb move on their part. No one asked for it and it was an all around silly reason because they made a uselessly large bench they now want to force on players. Then there’s the bugs. Oh man, the bugs. The game has gotten to be too much to fix and bugs just happen now. And of course, on PlayStation we can’t even get a PS5 upgrade like Xbox did so we’re getting even more brokenness and bugs. Why do I do this to myself? I love the game, but I don’t. I continue to come back to it, but I get angry sometimes. So yeah. And then of course we got Dune, which I have only a fleeting interest in. I love sword and sorcery far more than sci-fi, but then there’s also the fact that Funcom is making it. CE isn’t a good example of what they can do because how are we supposed to embrace a game that may screw us over all over again?

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Running around along the beginner river, having the music in the background. Its like you are running around in the movie. They got the music and the setting absolutely right :open_mouth:

I started playing in Early access, the riverbank was full of creatures and I mean full. There were more animals than there are trees now. Crossing the river was always an adventure(I mistakenly unlocked the armourbench and didnt have a weapon when I tried :laughing: ).
It took quite a while before I finally got to Sepermeru(they wore heavy armour in purple back then).

I have played Fallout 4, Skyrim, even minecraft. CE brings together exploration, combat, building and survival in one game with awesome atmosphere. A game where you play alone or with friends and customize the game to your liking. (I actually have fashionist as one of my mods btw). Few games do that.

There are still some bugs and issues to be fixes. Choices that I dont approve of(why did you ruin my favourite black keep sword, FC?) but its still a great game and I’ll continue to play it no matter what other games come out. Unless its an equally good Conan Exiles 2, ofcourse :smile:

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It’s the same reasons why I prefer diablo 2 over others ARPGs. The attacks, the weapons, the art and the simplicity of the effects made it more grounded in reality.

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Thanks for your feedback.
I am rather surprised that my post attracted any attention. This is not about seeking attention, but rather about how controversies and complaints tend to be more engaging.
There is an interesting trend in games - the declaration of death. I recall experiencing this when playing World of Warcraft. As the game progressed through various expansions, a minority of forum users adamantly believed that the game was dead due to declining numbers, being too casual-friendly, or Blizzard’s perceived missteps.

It seems to me that this phenomenon occurs across different gaming communities but exhibits similar patterns. In autumn 2018, when I read comments proclaiming “the game is dead and won’t survive”, I initially felt some irrational annoyance. However, as this narrative persisted, it ironically served to confirm the opposite. Over the years, depending on when individuals started playing - whether in 2017 or since the May 2018 release - certain aspects became apparent. One of the issues I wanted to address was the lack of sexualization in CE. Many people tend to associate attractiveness with sexiness, leading to characters being portrayed in skimpy or provocative ways. This prompted me to ponder whether there is a parallel between people’s attitudes towards sexualization in games and how it is often linked to adult cinema. To delve deeper into this topic, I sought out some accessible resources to help differentiate these concepts.

Before some people potentially get upset, it’s important to acknowledge that CE incorporates adult themes, which is undeniable. However, these themes are seamlessly integrated into the overall experience without being overly emphasized. The example provided in the article serves as a great illustration of how sexualization can exist independently of adult entertainment. It’s worth noting that sexualization can exert influence on its own, a concept frequently observed even in children’s cartoons.

While some may consider me detail-oriented, it has always been the finer points that, for me, set things apart and make a significant difference. During character creation in a recently released survival game, the immediate focus on breast physics caught my attention. It’s a known fact that sex can be a selling point, and some individuals appreciate such features. However, what truly surprised me was the absence of hair physics in the game. This was disappointing, but what truly disappointed me further was the peculiar appearance of footprints. Regardless of whether footwear was worn or not, toes were indiscernible. While this may not be a personal preference of mine, I do appreciate a realistic representation of footprints on the ground.

Despite the potential criticisms of CE, it is clear to me that the developers paid meticulous attention to details, setting standards that I use to evaluate other games, especially those within the same genre. Naturally, comparing a game with six to seven years of development against one freshly released may not be entirely fair, considering the advancements in graphics. However, there remains a fundamental aspect that either stands out as well executed or falls short.

The importance of proper posture and an upright walk in gaming cannot be overlooked. As players spend hours interacting with avatars, aesthetics play a significant role, including anatomically correct posture and movement. In a previous post, I referred to the male model as evolutionarily impaired.

Upon reflection, I questioned why male models often resemble beings predating H**o Erectus, over 2 million years ago. Does a chimp, gorilla, or orangutan appear barbaric or savage?

After much contemplation, I traced a possible source of inspiration to “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” (1831) by Victor Hugo. Interestingly, achieving realistic posture and movement seems to pose a considerable challenge, not only in real life but also for game designers.

In this context, the female model in CE stands out as a masterfully executed piece of work. However, when it comes to the male model, it appears that many players may prefer avatars resembling variations of Quasimodo. This observation raises questions about the portrayal of male characters in gaming and the standards set for their design.

I apologize for the lengthy text, and I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

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Conan Exiles pre Age of War was indeed exceptional

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Hmm… as much as I remember it, before AoS I, there was almost 1 year, where nothing happened…

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There is aspect that i love about soulmask when i tried it … its not there in conan exile quality of course … but they do the follower right , they harvest , follow you , you set point where they go … you got the beast taming part , the husbandry the crop where you actually feel like you can be a farmer. The combat experience of soulmask , is whacky stupid … if i could take half of soul mask and half of conan … they would be a juggernaut to never be contested ever again. Oh and Soul mask got the building aspect right … something that funcom could learn from.

Also in soul mask you get to set priority on what is access even down to building dismantle and creating … So that was super nice.

I hope funcom plays Soul mask and see what they did and learn from it.

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I liked Age of Sorcery, added a lot of new things to interact with

Unlike Age of War, messing with the old content, doing one of the worst balancing possible.

Age of War balancing is so bad it made a lot of things tediously annoying to deal with or made obsolete.

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I love Conan Exiles a lot, and I have done the whole delete whole battlenet and mogstation trope and bla bla.

But we cant forget that while the experience of Solo players in Conan Exiles might be wonderful, the server play is kinda crappy.

I dont really care about server play as I use it to play in local server with friends only, and mod out a lot of the problems, but what it means is that for that aspect to exist, it should be cared about by those making the decisions.

It is like the people wondering why there are few “elven aesthetic” things in Conan Exiles. Maybe because there are no Elves in hyboria ?

The game is what the game is. A lot of criticism comes from not wanting to accept not all games are MMOs, not all games are MOBAs. But that also applies to “over positive takes” about things the game does not accomplish assuming it should.

And not to forget the fact that people seem to apply the same overall style of obtuseness they have on movies and general entertainment. One might say “Madam Web” or “Captain Marvel” are bad movies, but while they are not top grossing movies, as movies they are not in the lower part of the scale in terms of being movies.

While among the “1% of movies”, they are in the bad side, in terms of movies, there are much more movies like this:

So we might say this “AAA” game is bad, that “indie” game is good, but most games made, or even the slightly selected games which make to Steam, are really on the crappy side.

That should be kept in mind, when criticizing or praising a game.

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Oh there is. But not in the common mainstream Tolkien-aesthetic. In fact I dare say we already have them in the game.

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Well, Perhaps I should have mentioned that I left World of Warcraft at the peak of my role-playing experience. Blizzard itself is, however, a completely different story. If it weren’t for the RP aspect, I would have left sooner.

Honestly, all of this happened before May 2018, and I was quite skeptical about Conan Exiles due to the mixed reviews on Steam. The main issues highlighted were mostly related to login problems and server stability.

Before delving into Conan Exiles, I spent some time playing Age of Conan: Unchained, which did not impress me. The game felt incredibly strange to me. During that period, I experimented with some of the games I mentioned in my initial post. TERA was enjoyable, I must admit, but mere enjoyment wasn’t sufficient. I suppose the theme park genre as a whole no longer appeals to me. I don’t consider myself a die-hard fan of any game; once my interest wanes, I move on, as long as the experience was good.

One day, I may walk away from Conan Exiles, just as I have done with other games :wink: